Bitcoin’s power needs may be overblown

There’s a growing debate over how much power will be used by the world’s expanding rank of cryptocurrency miners, writes Tim Loh for Bloomberg.

Last week, he notes, Morgan Stanley said Bitcoin miners could use as much as 140 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity this year – nearly half the UK total.

But this week, Loh says, Credit Suisse “dumped cold water on the notion that Bitcoin would create ‘uncontrolled growth’ in power demand,” recalling previous bullish predictions about the demand for electricity from marijuana growers or data centre operators, who later found ways to do more with less in order to cut their costs.